Shoe upper lacing machine



Feb.- 16, 1943. POSSA f l 2,311,165-

SHOE UPPER L AGING MACHINE Filed June 12,5,l 1940 Patented Feb. 16, 1943 Joseph Fossa, Salem, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 25, 1940, Seria-1 No. 342,292

the relatively close spacing between adjacent 3 Claims.

The presentinvention relates to improvements in cord cutting devices and is herein illustrated as being embodied in a shoe upper lacing machine of the type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent of the present inventor No. 2,106,320, dated January 25, 1938, and No. 2,281,686 dated May 5, 1942, and in the present inventors pending application Serial No. 335,724, iiled May 17, 1940, in which a needle, a looper and a cord cutting knife act to form a lacing of enchained loops in a single length of cord and to sever the cord at the end of each lacing so that the upper operated upon may be free-d readily from the machine. A

In the application for U. S. Letters Patent of Keaney, Serial No. 342,043, led June 24, 1940, there is described a lacing machine of the type referred to having a reciprocating cord cutter bar acting with the looper of the machine to sever the lacing cord at the end of a lacing operation along that portion supported by the looper. In that machine, a cutter bar has projecting from its upper surface a triangular knife edged member integral with the bar which, when the bar is actuated, moves across the path of the cord between the looping and spreading elements of the looper. The knife edged member is relatively small and frequently becomes shortened after being sharpened so that it is no longer effective in severing the cord.

The object of the present invention is to simplify and improve the construction of a thread cutter for a lacing or similar machine in which the cutting knife is carried by a bar mounted for reciprocation in a guide, in such a way that the knife may readily be sharpened without complication in adjustment or difculty in removal of parts from the machine. Accordingly, a feature of the present invention consists in the provision in a machine having upper clamping means, a needle for inserting a series of loops of cord in the clamped upper, and a` looper for enchaining the inserted loops, of a quickly disconnectible cutter knife secured to a bar actuated relatively to the looper, while the iinal loop of a lacing is held by the looper to sever the cord in the final loop. To render the cutter knife quickly disconnectible, according to the construction illustrated, the knife has a shank secured to the bar within the guide in which the bar is mounted for sliding movement to prevent removal of the knife, excepting when the bar is partly withdrawn from the guide. Suitable interlocking tang and notch elements on the shank portion of the knife and the bar also are provided in this form of the invention to render the knife readily disconnectible without difficult manipulations or adjustments. Such an arrangement isv desirable particularly in the type of shoe upper lacingmachine referred to because of parts of the machine and to the difliculty frequently encountered in making adjustments of any kind asa result.

These and other features consist in the constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will readily be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a view in right-hand side elevation of a portion of a lacing machine embodying a cord severing cutter of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view, partly in section, taken along the line 2 2, illustrating the relationship between the cord cutter and the final loop of cord in a lacing; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the cutter bar and guide; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cutter knife separated from the bar; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the forward end of thecutter bar without the knife attached.

The illustrated lacing machine, in construction and mode of operation of its lacing devices,

is the same as the machine of the patent and applications above identified. The lacings are inserted while the upper is held clamped in folded relation with pairs of eyelets in opposite upper sides in alignment. Each pair of aligned eyelets operated upon has inserted therein a length of cord formed into a series of enchained loops, alternate ones of which are passed through the eyelets and the others of which are passed across the eyeletted edges of the upper, the bight portion of each loop acting to lock the previously formed loop in place, the final loop being severed along the bight portion and the severed supply end being Withdrawn. In this way, the next to the last loop of cord is so locked that a pull on the free end connected with the lacing will not unravel the completed lacing but draw it tighter.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the illustrations in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in order to avoid confusion, indicate two only of the series of enchained cord loops in a lacing. As illustrated, these loops of cord'are in the positions of the next to last and final loops formed just before the lacing is completed. In Figs. 2 and 3, one loop 2 is shown as having been passed across `the eyeletted edges of a folded shoe upper 4 and is drawn close to the surface ofthe upper adjacent a pair of aligned eyelets 6, the upper being secured in position by clamping members l. The bight of a final loop 8 has been inserted in the loop 2 and is illustrated as being held in spread relation by a looper having relatively movable looping and spreading elements l0 and I2 which enter each succeeding loop after releasing the previous one. Each loop is inserted by the upward stroke of a reciprocating eye pointed needle I 4 which is moved laterally with a jogging action. In order to provide slack for opening out of the upper, the lacing cord between successive loops is carried about the hooked end of a thread finger I6 spaced a short distance from the upper. During the iinal movements of the needle I4, the lacing cord is carried into the grasp of a cordgripper I3 consisting of two relatively movable members and the cord of the nal loop 8 is severed along the bight portion which is held by the looper.

In the Keaney application above referred to, the cutter knife membervis triangular in shape and projects only a short distance above the upper surface of the cutter bar correspondingy to the cutter bar, indicated at Zi), in the present application. The cutter knife is so small that it is not only diicult to sharpen but ifsharpened frequently, it soon becomes worn away until it no longer projects sufficiently from the upper surface of the bar to reach the cord between the looping and spreading elements of the looper. As aI result, the whole cutter bar bust be removed and anew one substituted'.

fin order to simplify the removal of the cutter knife for sharpening, replacement or other purposes, in the machine of the present invention, the bar 23 is provided with a quickly detachable knife formed with an elongated'A spring shank 2-2, a sharpened cutting edge 213, an angularly bent tang 26, a tab 28, and an offset portion 3U; The Width of the shank 22 of the knife is theV same as the height of the cutter bar 20 and the cutter bar is reduced in width at one side to receive the shank of the knife within a guide 32 in which the bar is mounted for sliding movement in the lacing machine. The guide 32 is formed in a frame for supporting all of the parts of a single lacing unit, there being a number of lacingv units in the machine corresponding to the number of pairs of eyelets operated upon.

Within the guide 32, when the bar 2S isin normal operating position, the'bar has an opening 3d to receive the tab 28. The forward end'of the bar has a notch 36 to receive the tang 25. To increase the grip of the knife on the bar, the forward cutting edge end of the bar outside of the guide is provided with a recess 38 into whichfits the offseu portion 333 of the knife. When the knife is secured to the bar, with the bar innormal operating position within the guide, removal of the knife from the bar is rendered impossible. In order to remove the knife from the bar, the baris disconnected from its actuating mechanism and moved forwardly toa position where the opening 34 in the bar is exposed outside of the guide. The tab 23 may thenbe withdrawn from the opening Stand the forward end` ofA the knife disengaged from the recessand notch in the bar. No special tools are required for the removal of the knife and no separate-fastenings whichv would be likely to become misplaced or to cause difficulty in use are required,.there being insufficient space between adjacent lacing units to. enable the use oftools. `Also, when the knife is removed from the bar, the knife edge 24'! is more easily sharpened than when thev edge is formed on a member integralwith thebar. If after numerous sharpening operations, the. knife edge 24 is so shortened` astorender. it ineffective, a new knife may readily be substituted' for the one removed without the expense and diiiculty of fittingan entirely newcutter bar in the machine;

Therearward upper end oftfne reciprocating cutter bary 20 inthe present machine'is connected to an actuating'mechanismin a manner which 75' simplies the adjustments required in sliding the bar forwardly to a position where the opening 34 of the cutter bar is exposed outside the guide 32. The upper rearward end of the bar is grooved and ts one edge of a cap plate 40 of L-shaped cross-section secured to a horizontal flanged rod 42 supported at its ends in a pair of parallel actuating arms arranged to move simultaneously at theend of each lacing operation, as more fully describedin the patent referred to. To retain the grooved endof the bar in operative relation to the cap plate, the ange portion of the rod forms a supporting surface against which the bar rests and the cap plate is releasably clamped in place by a pair of screws, one of which is indicated at 44. By loosening or removing the screws, the plate'l may be raised sufficiently to clear the'not'ched end of each bar and permit its release from the rod 42. The bar may then be moved forwardly to a position Where the knife may be replaced in the manner referred to.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicatedand a specific construction embodyingthe present invention having been described, what is claimed is:

l. Ifn-fa machine forlacing shoeI uppers, the combination with upper clampingmeans, a needle for inserting a series of loops of cord inan upper, and a looper cooperating with the needle to enchaintheinserted loops, of a cutter comprising a bar actuated relatively to the looper whilethe-na-l loop*of a lacing is held by the looper, a guidein which the bar' is mounted for sliding` movement, and; a knife having a cutting edge outside the guiderand a-spring shank secured to the'bar within the guide-to prevent removal of thekni'fe when-the bar is in operative position in themachine;

2; In a machinev for lacing shoe uppers, the combination with upper clamping means, a needle for inserting-a series of` loops of cord in'v an upper and a looper cooperating with the needle to enchain the'insertedL loops; of a cutter comprising a bar having a` notched forward end actuated relatively to the looperv while the nal loopof alacing is held by the looper, a guide in-which the barl is mounted for sliding' movementl a-ndfrom whichy the notched end projects, and a knife having a cutting edgeV outside the guide and a` shank secured tov the barwithin the guide to prevent removal ofthe knife-when'the bar-'is` in operative position inthe machine; said knife shank having an angular tang tting the notchy in the projecting end of the bar to prevent displacement ofr the knife-from thebar outside theguide.-

3. In a` machine'for lacing shoe uppers, the combination with upper clamping means, a needle forinserting a series of'v loops of cordinan upper anda looper cooperating-with the needle to enchain' the'inserted' loops, of a cutter comprising a bar having'a notched forward end anda recess adjacent the forward end actuated relativelyy to the looper while the nal loopl is `held by-the looper, avguide in which the bar is mounted` for sliding movementr and from which the notched andrecessed'portions-of the bar project, and a knife lhaving a cuttingy edge outside the guide andafspringshank wit-ha bent tab fitting an openingin-thebar withink the guide and' having` an angularI tang f and an offset portion tting the notchedand recessedportions at the projecting end' of the bar to fpreventdisplacementl of the knifeifrom thebar outside the guide;

JOSEPH' POSSA. 

